“Credibility is consolidated with results.”

1.    What was the actual diagnosis you made of Bolivia's fundamental road network upon assuming the presidency of the ABC? Are we in a moment of road construction, maintenance, or rescue?

Upon assuming the presidency of the Bolivian Highway Administrator (ABC) in November 2025, the diagnosis revealed an institution plunged into a deep institutional, operational, and financial crisis. This scenario was characterized by administrative paralysis, opacity in the management of resources, and an alarming absence of reliable information.

Regarding the diagnosis of the Fundamental Road Network (RVF), the state of the infrastructure and management at the time of the transition, several critical points stand out; for example, execution capacity plummeted to historic levels, reaching barely 44% of total budget execution and 40% in investment during 2025. This resulted in a massive failure to meet physical goals: of 248.60 km of programmed highway, only 69 km were built, and bridge construction was zero (0%). There is a conservation and maintenance crisis. The condition of the sections under road conservation is critical, with neglected routes and no maintenance due to deserted tenders resulting from poorly designed terms of reference and insufficient budgets. We can state that roads in Bolivia are definitely in an emergency.

2.    What have been the main challenges you have identified in these first months of administration?

In the first months of the new administration, critical challenges have been identified stemming from a "Barrier State" ("Estado Tranca"), such as the ones I mentioned regarding the very low levels of budget and physical execution, critical deterioration of the Fundamental Road Network (RVF), financial and liquidity crises; added to this is the collapse of legal and contractual management, negligence in handling foreign financing, and zero progress in institutional modernization. In summary, the greatest current challenge is institutional reconstruction to transform the ABC from a paralyzed entity into an engine of development that regains the trust of funders and citizens.

3.    What first tangible measures or decisions have you taken since assuming office?

Since I assumed the presidency of the ABC in November 2025, a series of tangible measures and decisions have been implemented aimed at reversing the "Barrier State" and reconstructing the institutional framework of the entity. The main actions reported are:

• Implementation of the New Strategic Framework: Management has begun under the Economic and Social Development Plan (PDES) 2026–2030, reorienting institutional planning towards a vision of transparency and efficiency following the close of the previous cycle.

• Cleanup of Information and Transparency: As one of the first administrative actions, requiring all managements and units to submit reliable documentation to make the real state of the institution transparent and consolidate the accountability report.

• Adoption of Fiscal Discipline: The application of the zero deficit rule has been established in road works management, ensuring that each investment strictly responds to criteria of social need and financial sustainability.

• Digitization of the Procurement Process: The implementation of a transparent digital bidding system has been proposed, with the objective of fighting corruption and ensuring that local businesses participate on equal terms.

• Management of Liabilities and Legal Conflicts: Closing legal liabilities and resolving ongoing judicial processes that kept strategic works paralyzed has been defined as a priority, seeking to recover institutional legal security.

• Guarantee of Operational Liquidity: Measures have been taken to guarantee the necessary liquidity for paying payrolls to contractors and micro-enterprises in the Provial program, thus avoiding new stoppages due to lack of payment that affect road transit.

• Coordination with Funders and Regions: Coordination mechanisms have been deployed with funding agencies and subnational governments to correct pending technical deficiencies and ensure the flow of local counterpart resources.

These measures seek to transform the ABC into a dynamic player in public investment, overcoming administrative paralysis and regaining the trust of citizens and international organizations.

4.    In the management of a highway administrator, transparency in the awarding of works is usually a sensitive issue. What control mechanisms have you implemented in your administration?

To address the sensitivity surrounding the transparency of public works awarding processes and overcome the inherited opacity, we intend to implement control and transparency mechanisms through system integration with the purpose of tackling corruption head-on and ensuring that local companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, can participate under equal conditions. This will also allow us to have reliable institutional information to present to the population, social controls, and of course, for improvement in decision-making.

5.    What is the main bottleneck slowing down the progress of flagship projects and what concrete solution is the ABC applying?

The main bottleneck slowing down the progress of flagship projects is the phenomenon called "Barrier State", an institutional and administrative paralysis characterized by opacity, lack of reliable information, and extreme operational weakness. These measures are part of a comprehensive institutional reconstruction strategy under the new PDES 2026–2030 framework, aimed at converting road infrastructure into an efficient and transparent engine of development.

6.    Public management is often exposed to constant scrutiny. How do you build leadership and credibility in a high-pressure environment?

Building leadership and credibility in public management —especially under constant pressure and scrutiny— does not depend on a single action, but on sustained coherence between what is said, decided, and done. Credibility is born of consistency. A public leader must act in accordance with their principles even in difficult situations. People observe complex decisions more than speeches. It is not enough to respond when there is criticism. Leadership is tested when perfect information is not available.

Making timely, well-founded decisions and accepting their consequences conveys strength, even if not everyone agrees. The formation of technically sound teams, with a high level of commitment and proven moral and ethical integrity. This is the foundation of success in public management.

Finally, credibility is consolidated with results. But these must be communicated properly: translating technical matters into citizen language and showing how they impact daily life.

7.    What did the postgraduate program at UPB contribute to your professional training?

My time at UPB in the Master's in Business Administration and Management allowed me to significantly strengthen my capacity for analysis and decision-making in complex environments. Having technical tools that help implement a more strategic vision of management, understanding better the complexity of institutional environments. In addition, the practical approach and discussions with professionals enriched my judgement, and have allowed me to build networks of contacts that help address and solve various management problems.

In public management, where everything is important and urgent, a high degree of sense of prioritization is needed, both in the allocation of resources and of the time and energy that each executive and work team dedicates to important issues. Leadership also lies in keeping the team motivated as they face the Barrier State (structural bureaucracy) which often discourages and frustrates the most qualified officials. Tenacity to achieve objectives is fundamental.

8.    What is the legacy you seek to leave at the helm of the ABC? Which highway or what change in institutional culture would you like your administration to be remembered for?

In institutional and technical terms, I would like our greatest legacy to be the design and implementation of the National Road Conservation and Rehabilitation Fund, which must become the primary management tool for the efficient conservation of the road system. Today, one of the biggest problems facing the country is the critical deterioration of road infrastructure, the result of years of neglect and the lack of a management tool. The Conservation Fund aims to implement a modern, independent, solid, and transparent mechanism to address the conservation of more than 18,100 km of roads.

Additionally, we seek to establish a road network that integrates territories, reduces gaps, and dynamizes local economies. That each project is not just asphalt, but an opportunity for productive development, access to services, tourism, and territorial cohesion. The most important change I would like to be remembered is having strengthened an institutional culture and having contributed to reversing the “Barrier State” that does so much damage to our country and its institutions.

9.    How do you define your leadership model in public service?

This new moment in the country generates a massive sense of change. In all spheres of society, it is felt that it is the time to participate and contribute the best we have for the reconstruction of the Homeland. The values transmitted by President Rodrigo Paz Pereira by emphasizing family, country, meritocracy, ethics, and revaluing institutions are truly motivating and inspiring.

Based on these elements, institutional leadership in the ABC must allow these values to be expressed in each of the actions and efforts developed at all levels, transmitting this new vision to the workforce and generating a strong commitment to it.